1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an elastomeric bearing, consisting of an outer cover body, at least one rigid intermediate body, an a support body, having a suspension element always located between two neighboring bodies, whereby suspension elements have different suspension characteristics in the radial and axial directions as well as different damping characteristics and can be adjusted using a controllable switch apparatus.
2. Background Information
The prior art includes elastomeric bearings (such as Federal Republic of Germany Published Patent Application No. 29 27 757), which have attached to one bearing mount a controllable magnet which is actively connected to the other bearing mount via an armature, in particular a ferro-magnetic armature, which is separated from the magnet by a gap. The active connection between the magnet and the other bearing mount is transmitted or made by a magnetizable metal powder in the gap. As soon as this metal powder is magnetized by the magnet, the powder compacts and forms a rigid bridge between the magnet and the other bearing mount and, therefore, between the two bearing mounts. The characteristics of the entire bearing can be modified in this manner. There are also engine bearings or motor mounts (such as Federal Republic of Germany Patent No. 34 03 002), which have a support bearing and a bearing support connected to one another by a first suspension element as well as to a second suspension element which can be connected to the first suspension element under certain operating conditions. The function is based upon the interaction of the two suspension elements with a switch coupling. This switch coupling is switched in series with the relatively harder second suspension element, and the unit consisting of the second suspension element and the switch coupling is mounted parallel to the first suspension element between the bearing support and the support bearing. As a result, when the switch coupling is not activated, the suspension characteristic of the engine bearing or motor mount is determined solely by the relatively soft first suspension element; when the switch coupling is activated, the result is a composite suspension characteristic which includes the suspension characteristics of the first suspension element and of the second suspension element. Mounting two rubber springs in series results in defined suspension rates, but there remains the disadvantage that no defined damping coefficients can be achieved.